The mission of the Mass Spectrometry Core (Core A) is to provide cost-effective, state-of-the-art[unreadable] instrumentation and analytical expertise to investigators in the Research Center for Pharmacology and Drug[unreadable] Toxicology. The MS Core has ten mass spectrometers available for general use, including five triple[unreadable] quadrupole LC/MS instruments and two GC/MS instruments. Funds are requested in the budget to 50%[unreadable] cost-share the purchase of a new generation triple quadrupole LC/MS instrument to replace one of the[unreadable] obsolete current instruments to further enhance low level quantitation of target analytes. Five projects will[unreadable] participate in this Research Center and the Core will be used by each of them. The primary use of the Core[unreadable] will be for identification and characterization of small molecule metabolites in physiologic fluids and[unreadable] quantitation of eicosanoids, prostaglandins and oxidized lipids by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Core[unreadable] personnel actively participate in the research goals of this center and will undertake short projects, such as[unreadable] those to enhance chromatographic techniques and instrument sensitivity and to explore derivatization[unreadable] chemistry to enhance the ionization properties of target compounds. The Core will be managed by Dr.[unreadable] Richard Caprioli, Professor of Biochemistry in conjunction with Dr. David L. Hachey, Professor of[unreadable] Pharmacology and Biochemistry, and routine duties of the core will be done by four full-time laboratory[unreadable] personnel and an administrative assistant. Laboratory personnel assist users in developing analytical[unreadable] methods, designing experiments, developing standard operating procedures, maintaining quality control[unreadable] records of instrument performance and maintenance history, performing routine assays for investigators and[unreadable] training students and fellows in the theoretical and practical aspects of MS. The core has a regular training[unreadable] program given six times per year in which it offers new users specialized training in instrument operation and[unreadable] sample preparation. Furthermore, the center investigators will have access to more advanced[unreadable] instrumentation in the MS Research Center, and these will be made available to investigators through[unreadable] arrangements with Dr. Caprioli as needs dictate. Thus, the Core satisfies the routine analytical needs of[unreadable] center investigators and assures that new analytical capabilities will be available to meet more demanding[unreadable] research challenges that fall beyond the scope of a routine service core.